A/N: Machiiiii-chan. Who loves you more than I? Luppi of course. I am also determined to find out what his...it's age is. It's too bad I'm shaking with laughter while watching The Office. "That is the prettiest purse of all. I'm going to be the prettiest girl at the ball." Jim, jim, jim. AHH! LUPPI SHOULD BE THAT KID IN THAT MOVIE "YOUTH IN REVOLT"!!! Goodness, gracious. This is horrible. OOC-ness, and OCD-ness and bipolar-ness...amongst other disorders and dispositions. Love to all! (I have no idea if arrancar sleep, or not. So they will. Because I said so. So bleeh.) There might just be a subtle message for you to go out and BUY MACHI's BED! NOW AVALIABLE AT MACY'S!!!!

These Dreams, These Nightmares

"...Machi?" A voice rang out in the deep silence of the room where Machi resided most of the day. Las Noches was utterly quiet except for the one little voice that kept calling out to the young girl as she slept. She couldn't quite remember if she was dreaming or if she was just hullucinating, but either way, the voice was disrupting her thuroughly. Her green eyes popped open, the moonlight glittering from her window, streaming down upon her form. She sat up in her small bed, her brown hair mussed and still barely hanging out of a ponytail. The voice continued even in her state of awareness, so she confirmed that it was not anything in her sleep.

"Machiiii...Machi, come on! I know you're awake!" The young girl groaned into the darkness, twisting her head to the open doorway where a small slender form stood. Even in the shadows, she could make out the figure of Luppi, the remains of his hollow mask embeded in his hair. He stepped further into the room, his shoes making quiet clicking noises against the tiles. Machi made a few incoherant noises before replying to his calls.

"Luppi? What the hell are you doing? Do you realize it's not even...uh...like, two in the morning? Just because we're arrancar doesn't mean we don't need some form of rest," she spat tiredly, very little venom in her voice. She was too exhausted to try. Luppi towered over her laying form until she sat up, making them relatively similar heights. In the moonlight, she could see his face more clearly, even though her eyes were still foggy with sleep. His pale skin nearly shimmered, but the conflicting emotions on his face caught her off guard more than that.

"Why are you even here? You have your own room, don't you? Or did the big kids kick you out?" Luppi gave a weak sneer, crossing his arms acrost his flat chest.

"Ha ha. You're a comical genious," Luppi turned his head to the side, gazing out into the desert-land of Hueco Mundo, "I...I can't get to sleep," Machi tilted her head to the side, not quite understanding the point of his night visit. She gropped around on the floor with her feet, finding her discarded socks. She began placing them on her feet, continuing to figure out the puzzle that was Luppi.

"What, eat one too many Pixxi Sticks?" She lifted her head from the floor, watching the way his ultra-violet eyes begin to shake ever-so slightly. His teeth gently covered his lower lip, sinking into the soft flesh.

"Honestly, I don't know why I even came to you, of all people," Luppi mumbled to himself, hoping she wouldn't catch most of his sentence. Luppi had terrible luck, of course, because she heard all of his sentence, and even had a lecture all set in her mind.

"Me?! Luppi, I don't have the slightest idea why you're even here right now, and you're expecting me to just be so accepting right now, and it's barely even two fifteen a.m! Would you just explain to me why you're here in my room in your time of being an insomniac?" She hissed at the smaller man, slapping her hands down on the bed on both sides of her thighs. Luppi's eyes grew wide for a moment or two, but were suddenly reduced down to normal size. Machi looked him over completely for the first time that night, noticing his shaking knees, fingers, and lip. With his height and overall appearance, he seemed to look exactly like a small child to Machi, one who had just seen a terrifying monster or scary movie.

"I-I-It's...it's nothing, sorry for bothering you so late--" Luppi began, until the sudden feeling of warmth in his hands. Machi had reached out, feeling through his large sleeves, grasping onto his hands that were nearly the size of her own. His eyes flew from the window, to Machi's suddenly caring expression, then down to the ground. He felt his cheeks heat up, blood rushing to his face with a trumendeous speed. Machi's thumbs circled the knuckles of his index fingers, the sudden feeling of curiousity bubbling in her stomach.

"Hey. Don't come into my room at Godly hours of the morning and then just throw it all to the wind. Come on, just tell me," Seconds later, Machi tugged at the very hands that she held, pulling the Espada down onto the small bed that they now were sharing.

"Really, though, it's nothing of real concern. It's just...petty...I mean, nothing you should have to worry about," Luppi turned his head, facing the only person he had ever loved in his entire existence, seeing the worry and concern smeared on her face like blood, "I..." Luppi sighed, "...I...had a....nightmare," the young arrancar twiddled with his thumbs absentmindedly, a scarlet red, once more, appearing on his ghostly-white cheeks.

"Is...that it?" Machi chuckled, throwing her arm around his shoulder, casually, "Aww, poor wittle Wuppi," She laughed, leaning her head on his slender shoulder, "So, did you wanna talk about it, or...?"

"Well, I, um, yes, I suppose that is one of the many reasons I came to you imparticular," Luppi tripped and tumbled over his own words, feeling like an utter fool infront of the brunette Espada.

"Ohhhh....I get it. You want to stay here with me tonight, right? Just like a little kid," She teased, recoiling her arm and slipping back under the small sheet. Luppi nearly died from embarrasment, knowing that he'd finally been caught. Machi was really, and truely, his only friend in all of Hueco Mundo and of course, with his luck, he had fallen completely head-first for her. Most of the Espada had figured it out, teasing him daily about it, but he tried his hardest to 'woe' her in a descreet way. That, for Luppi, was simply not working.

"Well...if you didn't mind," His voice gained confidence and cockiness, as his fingers slid over the edge of the covers. Before he lifted his legs onto the bed, he kicked his shoes off, laying down directly to Machi's left. The overall scent of her bed overwhelmed him. He could feel the warmth of where she had recently been laying, he could smell her skin and it's natural scent. It completely washed over him, sweeping him off his feet.

"Are you ever going to tell me about this 'horrifying nightmare' that's got you all rattled up?" Machi turned her entire body, the very movement of her hips and twists of her neck nearly put Luppi into cardiac arrest. Instead of losing his mind completely, he kept his cool by finally admitting what he was terrifyed of ever single night of his life; the same dream that haunted his sleep...

"Yeah...sure..." he scooted in close to her, pressing his face to the nape of her neck, closing his eyes before saying, "I am absolutely terrifyed of losing you...of you dying in some epic, bloody, horrible battle...and I can't be there to save you," Machi gave in, letting herself enjoy this sweet and wonderful moment she never wanted to let go of.

"Eh, what a cheesy thing to dream of...just get to sleep already..." Machi slowly and gently wrapped her arms around his small waist, suddenly realizing his small he was. Luppi nodded into the flesh of her neck, raising his head for the last time that night to kiss her cheek.

"Goodnight, Machi-chan..." he whispered into the darkness.

"Yeah...g'nite, Luppi-kun,"